Humidifier



Filed May 14, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .291 U6 71 to r HUMIDIFIER 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M Z 6. 7 2 Jam 6 k W. O J 6 J. ARMSTRONG Filed May 14 May 17, 1932.

Patented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT olu-"ica JOSEPH AIRlMSTRONG; OI ALLS'I'O'N, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGITOR TO AMERICAN MOIS- TENING COMPANY, 01 PROVIDENCE, BHODE ISMND, A CORPORATION OF MAINE HUMIDIFIER 1 Application filed May 14,

sorption and distribution of moisture obtainable with the fan at the top of the casing, and the spray nozzle below on the axis. Analysis of the operation and the causes of the benefits observed in the present invention leads to the conclusion that in the customary construction the air stream is annular and for the most part is locatedclose by the casing wall with but little air movement in the central portion of the casing, so that consequently at the central part of the casing the air is not movin at a sufiicient velocity, or perhaps is not su ciently. dense, topick up the available moisture. The present invention provides means for diverting from the side into the central region that air which. was delivered by the fan blades as an annular current, and for supplying additional air to replace that thus directed into the central region, this additional air being drawn in through the periphery of the casing.

The greatly increased volume of air thus passed through the spray necessarily picks'u'p more moisture. Some of this is taken from the regions near the axis where cone spray is denser, and may in consequence be in larger globules but the invention further makes special provision for-automatic elimination of the large liquid globules. This is brought about by a preliminary separation of the moisture laden air stream into two currents which individually are deflected so as to separate globules that are too heavy to continue with the air; and which currents are then reunited in cross directions'of flow whereby remaining'largeparticles are either broken up or absorbe so that the air which is ulti- 1926. Serial No. 109,185.

motor and fan, set on a vertical axis, and the customary nozzle for making a cone spray of water through which the air current passes to become moistened. The fan is within and close below the entrance end of a short tubular casing, which has an annular flange projecting interiorly to near the edges ofthe fan blades and thus to prevent upward escape of air driven oil from the tips of the blades. The blast from the fan moves downward past another annular flange, also projecting interiorly, which concentrates the current and directs it toward the central region of the casing. .At this second flange the casing terminates. There is an interval,

and then another casing of equal diameter begins, through which the concentrated blast flows with additional outside air entering through-the said interval and entrained between this concentrated blast and the walls of the lower casing. At the entrance ofthe second casing is the spray nozzle which forms the cone jet of water diverging from the axis to the wall of the lower casing. This wall, converging slightly continues a little way below where the cone strikes it, and then flares abruptly outward and terminates. A wide V shaped trough whose inner ed e is set just below, conducts the drainage rom the casing to short vertical ducts leading to the drip 'i pan below. The under side of this trough and the upward and outward sloping bottom of the drip pan constitute a circular horizontal discharge nozzle for the expanded and heavily moistened air current which has come down through the spray within the casmg. The invention provides separate passages leading to this discharge nozzle low frusto-conical deflector located centrally above the bottom of the drip pan; and is then given somewhat of an upward turn by the sloping margin of the drip pan: The remainder of the current passes through the open centre of the conical frustum and follows along under its diverging wall until it rejoins the first part flowing out owed the air discharging edge of the drip pan. The fact that the middle part of the downward air current goes through the cone opening enables the main annular body remaining to be discharged at a. velocity low enough so that globules of water too heavy to be permanently entrained in the moistened air current beat downward on either the cone plate or the upstanding rim of the drip pan, whence they drain into the usual waste pipe. In consequence the moisture remaining in the 7 air which'is discharged is carried along without precipitation in the room. The free course of the air currents with only this single change in direction makes the eflective distance of projection great, while the injection of the additional air enables a greater amount j of moisture to be disseminated than if only the air passing directly from the fan through the water jet were used.

In the preferred form of apparatus embodying the present invention the upper section of casing is fixed. about the fan. The lower section and the cone deflector attached at its bottom can either be swungoutward on I pivots or be removed entirely. This disassembling, the cleaning and the re-assembling can be done uickly and easily.

It is intended that the patent shall cover, by ,suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of patentable novelty exist in the invention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings, 'which show an illustrative embodiment of the invention: we

Figure 1 is an elevation-of a humidifier constructed in accordance with the present invention with the left half of the casing in medial section; and a Figure 2 is an elevation, at right angles to the view of Figure 1, showing how the parts may be disposedfor cleaning. 7

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus is hung from overhead by a pair of hanger straps 10 to which is attached the spider 12 supporting the motor 14 and fan 16. The upper section of open-ended tubular casing 18 is secured to the hangers by suitable means such as binding screws 20 which pass through ward through this casing 18. Its efiiciency is.

markedl conserved, however, by the revision 0 an interior flange 24 which pro ects inward around the casing over the tips of the blades and inclines downward slightly into the region of suction of the fan. The considerably greater downward delivery of air which results shows that in fans used heretofore in such apparatus some air has "been driven radially outward b the blades, against the casing, and has divided, part flowing along thecasing wall in the direction of the blast .and'th'c remainder passing backward and out of the casing, the power applied thereto being wasted. B the present construction, any tendency o the laterall thrown air to flow backward is frustrate by the flange. Any air of the room which flows radially inward past the edge of the flange is immediately sucked downward.

The water supply enters through the usual strainer-'26 mounted on one ofthe hangers and through pipe 36 which reaches across to the other hanger and feeds the spray nozzle 28, located at the axis of the humidifier and about midway of its height. This nozzle forms a cone shaped jet or curtain of spray which impinges upon the wall of the lower section of casing, between which and the first or upper section of casing is a peripheral opening a for the admission of air additional to that driven downward by the fan through the upper section. This lower casing section 30 is on the axis of the upper and ward slightly conver ing until at 38 it flares abruptly outward. he angle of flare should not be so great as to prevent the water from the spray which runs down the inner surface of this casin from continuing on the underside of the diverging flare 38 until it reaches the edge, where it falls into a shallow drain channel or V-shaped trough 40 which is attached to the casing by brackets 41 with its.

inner edge 42 inside of the bottom edge 44 of the casings flare. The space between their adjacent edges is only large enough for the water running on the flare'to clear the lower surface until it drops thereon. The

narrowness of this opening prevents any appreciable escape of the moistened air through this assage, and; the convergence of the casing ai s in this respect for the air is thereby shot past the flare with little chance of. turning rapidly enough to enter the annular opening. The water flows along the V-shaped trough to holes 46 on each side opposite thehangerstr'aps and there it falls.

gether with that portion of the air which is initially driven radially outward and which is deflected down the casing wall, are concentrated centrally of the casings by an interiorly projecting annular flange 52 at the lower edge of the upper casing 18. This flange constitutes a nozzle, as it were, so that the air streainas it passes the peripheral opening a, creates a suction or injector effect which draws more air into the humidifier through the said opening and enables a much greater volume of air to be passed through the jet than would be the case if no such opening a were provided. The increased volume of air flows downward through the jetspray, picking up and entraining moisture therefrom, and then for the most part is turned into a horizontal direction by a deflector 54 standing centrally in the bottom of the drip pan, to pass out through the circular nozzle defined by the upward-sloping pan bottom and the lower edge 40 of the drainchannel. The said deflector 54 is a plate shaped like the side surface of a frustum of a flaring cone, leaving its top open and set with its bottom edge 54 spaced from the pan bottom by its supporting le s- 56 which are attached to the inner wall 0 trough 40.

The large volume of air flowing downward in casing 30 is separated by the deflector into two portions, the larger of which flows over the top surface of the deflector and the lessor of which enters its top opening and flows along its under side to the pan, which turns it upward to mix again with the larger portion. This provision of an inner and an outer passage by the cone is important because of the abnormal quantity of air flowing through the casing. It has been observed that if the cone top be closed, and all the.

air passes down outside the cone, large particles of moisture are carried out which are fall on the coneor pan below. By providing the top opening in the cone the air current is divided temporarily, each portion is separately deflected, and the twocome together beyond the cone edge with different velocities and in cross currents of flow. In consequence some large globules of entrained water; which are being carried by the mois tcned air but are too large to continue with it, are entrapped on the surface of the deflector and the pan bottom, whence they drain away through the strainer 58 and outlet 60;

and others, by reason of the intermingling turmoil of the air currents, become smaller, by fracture or partial absorption, so as to be successfully carried away, because of the absorptive capacity of the air. The resultingdischarge is a very fine fog of surprisingly even texture, containing a higher percentage of securely floating moisture than the product of any similar apparatus of which I am aware. clean the apparatus, the pivoted arms 62 are disengaged from the hangers 10 and then the lowercasing, with the attached deflector When it. becomes desirable. to I 54, is swung upwardabout the pin ivots 31 1 as illustrated in Figure 2. Althoug "the deflector 54 can be removed by taking off the thumb nuts 62 this is not necessary because the'space between the deflector and the trough 40 is large enough for ones hand to pass through into the casing. After cleaning the casing 30 is permitted to swing back to its vertical position, the ducts 50 assuming positions outside of lugs 10 on the pan which center the casing, and th forked arms 62 are turiied outward intojengagement with the hangers to prevent s pivots 31.

I claim as my invention: 1. A humidifier comprising, in combination, a tubular casing; means for supplying spray in the casing; and means for creating a current of air through said. spray, comprising a fan within the casing driving air through saidspray; there being an opening in the casing wall between said fan and spray, through which opening air is drawn into said inging about the .casin-g' by the said driven air.

2. A humidifier comprising, in combination, a tubular casing; a fan therein for moving air through it; an opening in itsv wall, beyond the fan, through which opening additional air is drawn in by the air passing said opening; and means for supplying a spray in the casing beyond said opening, through which spray all said air passes.

' 3. A humidifier comprising, in combination, a tubular casing, a fan andmeans for supplying spray therein; there being an opening in the portion of casing wall lying. between said fan and spray; and means whereby air from the. fan passes said. opening with injector effect, whereby additional air is drawn into said casing through the annular opening and is forced through said spray.

4. A humidifier comprising, in combinaa rotary blade Fan-in r suppl ing a spray an annular eneral direction of air propulsion by the an, 10-

cated at and overlying the path of rotation of the tips of the blades and leaving an opening overthe main parts of the blades; said flange preventing backward escape of air from the fan. i

5. A humidifier comprising, in combination, a tubular casing a fan and means for supplying a spray in said casing; and an annular interiorly projecting flange in said casing between the fanand said spray, de-.

fleeting inward and thus' concentrating the blast; there being an opening in the casing wall between said flange and said spray through which air is drawn into the casing by the concentrated blast. N

6. A humidifier comprising, in combination, a casing having upper. and lower sections; a fan within said uppersectiOn forcing air toward and through said lower section; and means within said lower section for supplying spray therein; there bein an opening between said sections through w ich air is injected into the casing in addition to the air forced through the .upper section.

7 A humidifier comprising, in combina tion, a casing having upper and lower sections with 'an opening therebetween; means for propelling air through said upper section and past said-openinginto the lower section; means within said lower'section for supplying spray therein; and means at the bottom of said upper section for concentrating the air passing therethrough whereby additional. air is injected into the lower section through the said opening.

8. A humidifier comprising in combination a tubular casing; means for supplying spray within it; means for .propelllng air through said casing to entrain moisture from said spray; the said casing providin a single passage for all of the propelle I air at the place where the spray is; and there being beyond that place means dividing said passage into separated passages; and a discharge opening for said air; said separated passa es leading to said discharge opening, and eing arranged to separate into sections the current of air with entrained moisture from the single passage and to diversify the directions of and then to re-unite the said sections while their directions are diverse.

9. A humidifier comprising, in combina arate the moistened air current into two portions flowing in different directions to said nozzle whereb the two ortions intermingle in said nozzle uring disc arge therefrom.

10. A humidifier comprising, in combination,'a tubular vertical casing; means for supplyin spra therein; means for propelling'air t roug said spray to entrain moisture therefrom; a pan underneath, coacting with the bottom end of the casing wall to form a circular dischargenozzle; and a circular deflector having its entrance edge below said spray between the axis and wall of the casing, extendingt-hence outward over the pan and toward the said discharge, and cooperating with the casing to make a passage for the outer portion, and with the pan to make a separate passage outward for the inner portion of the moistened air, the said deflector terminating shortof said nozzle whereby the said ortions intermingle in the nozzle during disc arge therefrom.

11. A humidifier comprising, in combination, a tubular vertical casing; means for supplying spray therein; means for propelling air through said spray to entrain moisture therefrom; a pan underneath, co-acting with thebottom end of the casing wall to form a circular discharge nozzle; and a hollow frusto-conical sheet deflect-or above the pan, dividing the current of air with entrained moisture into a central portion and a peripheral portion with a passage for moistened air between said pan and the deflector, and a passage between the deflector and the casing; the sald passages joining before the nozzle is reached whereby the said portions intermingle in the nozzle durin discharge therefrom.

Si ed at Boston, Massachusetts, this thirteent day of May 1926.

JOSEPH ARMSTRONG.

tion, a vertical tubular casing; means forsupplying spray therein; means for propeling air through said spray to entrain moisture therefrom; a pan underneath, co-acting with the bottom end of the casing wall to form a circular discharge nozzle; and a deflector extending partially across said casmg, between it and said pan, arranged to sep- 

